Keyboard Builders’ Digest / Ideas & Methods
Greatest keyboards of 2025 – a private prime checklist
My favourite keyboards from these I examined in 2025 – in a few made-up classes. 🙂
KBD.information
Revealed December 24, 2025
(PSA: That is in all probability the final publish of 2025. Pleased finish of the 12 months to everybody, whether or not you are celebrating holidays, simply chilling, or doing your individual factor! Thanks for being a part of this journey. Keep superior!)
Someway, I’ve ended up doing my longer-format keyboard critiques weekly or each different week for the final two years. That is fairly a pattern, so I had this concept to place collectively a year-end abstract.
As subjective and biased as this may occasionally sound, I assumed it will be helpful to wrap up the 12 months with my private prime picks and spotlight some nice keyboards in a number of made-up classes like fanciest design, funniest keycap set, finest typing really feel, most inexpensive ones, and many others. 🙂
Dialogue over at r/mk. Be happy to share your ideas.
Better of the bests
Placing this class on the very finish may have been higher from a strategical standpoint, however anyway, as a TL;DR, the keyboard undertaking I cherished essentially the most in 2025 was – da-bum-tss:
- the Cornix by Jezail Funder Studio. A pre-built cut up in a top quality CNC-milled aluminum case, with nice typing really feel because of the all-POM Choc V2 switches – a ready-to-rock ergo cut up with out the trouble of github, PCB manufacturing, case printing, and many others.
Cornix
Haha. Yeah, I do know. A few of chances are you’ll be frightened by the sheer look of a cut up keyboard. Nonetheless, this one grew to become my each day driver proper after the evaluate (and I am nonetheless utilizing it day-after-day), so choosing it for the highest spot was a no brainer.
My present Cornix setup (photograph above):
- The inventory all-POM Kailh Spring MINI Choc V2 switches are beautiful for one thing low profile.
- I am utilizing the marginally translucent black resin MX Lamé caps from 3dkeycap. And another colours and textures for particular or not-really-used keys.
- Max tenting at 24 levels, my decrease arms resting on the arm rests of my chair.
It is not good, I needed to replace the firmware and should restart it like as soon as a month when it goes loopy for some cause, nevertheless it’s in all probability my fault: almost definitely I simply find yourself getting caught on a layer that I do not acknowledge and may’t get again to my base layer… 😀
Greatest typing really feel
For some bizarre cause, nice typing really feel has one thing to do with glitter: Glitter65 and Evo75 Nebula with micro-glitter on the two prime spots. 🙂
- The 65% MoeeTech Glitter65 HE – the pre-built one with the lightest 35gF ProSilk switches. Regardless of the plastic (polycarbonate) case, it was an actual wow second after I first began clicking and clacking on this one. So smooth and easy and creamy – zero scratch and minimal wobble! (Once more, I might wish to stress that I am speaking concerning the ProSilk switches. I favored the opposite two variants much less, with the silent one having appreciable wobble.) I constructed one other Glitter65 with the heavier switches of the model and could not reproduce the identical expertise.
MoeeTech Glitter65 HE
- Evoworks Evo75 – High quality shines by means of in each side of this keyboard. It grew to become my reference immediately in the case of typing really feel of 75% boards.
Evo75 Nebula colorway with micro-glitter
- Surprisingly, I might put the Cornix on the third place right here as effectively. Fairly surprising from a low-pro cut up. (Though the Choc V2s are significantly better than the V1s, a minimum of in my view.)
Most enjoyable construct
- Womier ERA75 – placing about 150 tiny stickers within the intricate carvings might sound annoying at first – an actual torture for some –, nevertheless it’s enjoyable. Okay, you in all probability have to be a sure persona kind for this.
Womier ERA75 Cyberpunk version
When writing the evaluate, I needed to rush the sticker utility so the write-up may go stay sooner, which is a disgrace — I actually loved the method and would fortunately do it once more, simply at a slower tempo.
Most fancy design
There have been a handful of contenders for this class, just like the ERA75 for its carvings and stickers (above), the Dry Studio Battleye with the contact display inside a rotary knob, plus its patented legs, and many others. That mentioned, the winner on this class iiiis:
- The GravaStar Mercury HE for the hand-painted case, the loopy keycap set, and the uniquely molded aluminum case after all, that includes the distinctive alien legs. An excessive amount of visually for some individuals, however I favored the general design and bundle. (By the way in which, if there was a 2024 prime checklist, the non-HE Mercury K1 Professional may have ended up because the winner within the Greatest typing expertise class. These GravaStar-branded linear switches have been wonderful.)
OK, let’s characteristic the Battleye as effectively:
Cutest keycap set
- KiiBOOM Phantom81 – this board was immediately grabbed by my daughter, so I have never seen it because the evaluate. Probably due to the foolish froggy-themed keycaps. I could not even decipher the deep symbology she acknowledged instantly.
If we additionally think about different attributes, not simply the enjoyable issue, I’ve to say:
- the KAP Technology set I obtained from MonacoKeys. Nice colours, nice high quality.
KAP Technology
- the Viking Antiques Thor Copper set from Awekeys – I wished the rune-only set, nevertheless it was out of inventory so went with the runes-as-sublegends variant. Surprisingly, I really like the texture and texture of this one rather a lot.
- I really like the colorway of the double-shot set on the Battleye:
- the dye-sub set on the NPKC RO75 – one thing muted, good stability between coloration teams and supplies: translucent accents.
- and yeah, the borderline unreadable pudding-style Mercury caps as effectively.
- And naturally the MX Lamé caps from 3dkeycap, nevertheless it’s not for everybody as it is a clean low-pro set, extra for splits.
Greatest funds keyboard
I had the chance to check some actually inexpensive choices. Utilizing the KBDNEWS coupon code, you may seize some boards within the 30-40 USD vary.
Dierya DK81E
- The wired 75% Dierya DK81E – $37 with the KBDNEWS coupon code.
- The 60% Corridor-effect Dareu COOL60 – $42 with the KBDNEWS coupon code.
- But in addition this 12 months’s very first evaluate: Kemove TMKB T68-C – a 65% Corridor-effect board, simply $30 as of scripting this.
Largely plastic on this vary after all, however usually nice beginning factors. And what about aluminum instances?
Redragon Eclipse K720 Professional
Greatest traditional structure
Beside the Cornix after all, which layout-wise is near good for my style, there have been another cool boards with extra traditional layouts. That mentioned, I am at all times enthusiastic about cut up spacebar choices:
- Break up spacebar: the caseless Lexicon, or the Womier SK71 with a PCB supporting ANSI/ISO variants, plus a cut up spacebar (although with additional plates, and the cut up one has been out of inventory for a while).
- Arrow cluster. Having it offset makes quite a lot of sense in my view (Dierya DK81E), however most 65 and 75% have a minimum of a niche left of the arrows.
Greatest options
- VIA/Vial help – At this level, customized firmware truthfully offers me a knot in my abdomen. VIA/Vial’s options are adequate for 99.9% of individuals, and you do not have to put in something.
- ball-catch opening: NPKC RO75, KiiBOOM Moonshadow V2, Evo75. In the summertime, after reviewing a number of boards with this construction, I assumed this characteristic would catch on. It made disassembling these boards a lot simpler.
Ball-catch mechanism
- leaf springs: Evo75, Battleye (additionally the Weikav Document Alice from final 12 months, regardless of the buggy firmware). Add these to immediately elevate your keyboard to the subsequent stage of sophistication.
- hotswap encoder: ERA75 – a surprisingly helpful characteristic for individuals who assume they want a knob, solely to comprehend later that an F13 key makes extra sense. 😉
- magnetic dongle compartment lid: Womier SK71 Professional. I favored this one. Cute and helpful: no extra misplaced or mixed-up wi-fi dongles.
Truthfully, I do not assume many different options make a lot sense: shows, encoders, per-key lighting, and many others.
That mentioned…
Coolest pointless characteristic
I am unable to assist however create a devoted class for the most effective overengineered half:
- Alien legs of the GravaStar Mercury boards. The development is surprisingly sturdy, and the built-in lighting is the icing on the cake, however nonetheless… Most likely essentially the most l’artwork pour l’artwork factor I’ve ever seen in keyboards.
In distinction, the Battleye‘s fancy patented legs have a number of levels a minimum of.
Honorable point out: the removable (pogo pin) TV display of the Epomaker RT82 (evaluate in January).
Greatest keyboard accent
Effectively, this was the one accent of this type I reviewed in 2025 I assume, however anyway:
- The Clackify keyboard stand. It is a actually helpful stuff should you’re juggling with near 100 boards on and round your desk… I want one other dozen of those… 😀
Greatest mouse?
Not likely my discipline of experience to place it mildly, however this 12 months I obtained some fancy mice from GravaStar, Dareu, Offended Miao (evaluate later), and likewise 8BitDo.
That mentioned, this was not a rating, somewhat a timeline.
These principally feather-light peripherals are in all probability essential for avid gamers, however truthfully, after each single evaluate, I went again to my trusty previous (15 years previous) fundamental wired IBM mouse (workplace) and an inexpensive wi-fi noname one from Aliexpress that’s falling aside.
Evidently I want extra heft and resistance to deal with all of the superb actions. Possibly it is simply my amateurism and non-gamer method, however I hate when a mere click on strikes my cursor. (And I find yourself clicking one thing else than meant – annoying when making pixel artwork.)
—
That is it people, these have been my favourite keyboards from this small pattern I’ve reviewed throughout 2025.
Thanks for studying, and because of all of the outlets and designers who’ve despatched me keyboards. Sustain this good behavior! 😀
See you subsequent 12 months. I will proceed with boards just like the Epomaker RT82 that includes a mini TV, and likewise the Elytra by Elimkeys – that jogs my memory of the Cornix, simply with a horizontally staggered structure. Possibly the Jiffy SP75, an actual JFS product, or the Go60 by MoErgo. After which testing some customization providers as effectively: beginning with designing a customized keycap set by way of Aula’s configurator, and placing collectively a undertaking for JLCPCB/JLC3D as effectively.
Take care!
Revealed on Wed twenty fourth Dec 2025. Featured in KBD #204.
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